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thanks for the advice. Frankly, if i could make 50%-75% more, i would stay. But for 100% more, it is hard to stay. I just have not switched jobs a lot, so this is fairly new to me. Some of you are quite experienced in switching every 5-10 years. I never listened to the headhunters until this happen...

I make close to the same as you. Definitely switch to Traditional 401k, and keep the Roth IRA. And yes, that car payment is nuts. If you really feel like it's a mistake, you should sell the car and get into something more affordable. If the payment is $700 a month then I'm guessing it's a car that's...

I always chuckle when I read the statement that is the thread title. Americans keep retiring despite that statement. So what's wrong with that? But aren't we only now starting to enter the era in which retirees are going to be depending much more on SS and their own retirement savings as opposed to...

Companies always give raises based on a percentage, and when viewed in that light, 9% is pretty darn good. If you are shooting for an instant, dollar amount bump to the average for your group then I have to agree with others that your only choice is to look elsewhere.

Stop making payments on the loan, then you'll see how bad they can be when the tow truck repossesses your car - now you have no money and you have no car and there you are! :twisted: That's the main problem I have with a car loan (or any loan). It puts you "on the hook" for the payment ev...

You can't compare the licensing models of closed source, "shrink wrapped" software produced by a mega corp with independent development work done by a contractor. OP wants to bail on this client; that's his prerogative. But unless the application is trivial, it is useless to the client wit...

If you've got any long term cap gains in taxable and you'd like to realize them at that attractive tax rate of 0% and it's not impossible/too much effort to remain in 15% tax bracket to do so: makes sense. The problem with this is that if you're otherwise in the 25% bracket it's likely going to be ...

The question, which I think is a good one because I'm in a similar situation, is essentially is it worth switching from Roth to Traditional to stay out of the 25% bracket. The Roth was an easy call when we were solidly in the 15% bracket. Now I'll have to switch my wife's IRA contributions to Tradit...

You don't say where the $130k savings is; I'm assuming it's in a savings account. If so, and the expenses you are targeting that money for are sufficiently down the road, I'd say that's a bit much to have tied up in cash earning very little return. I personally think your bond concerns may in fact b...

Regardless of how it's acquired, the thing to keep in mind about employer stock is that you already have a lot of your livelihood tied up in that company simply due to the fact that you work there. So often, the prudent thing to do is sell the stock as soon as possible and reinvest in something more...

The Freedom index funds are very good, personally I'd put 100% into the one with the asset allocation that you prefer (ignore the target date). You don't mention your current balances or your income, but IMHO $250 a month in retirement contributions isn't going to get you there. I agree with priorit...

There are many here way more knowledgeable than I, but what jumps out at me the most here is that you have way too many funds. Since you're basically just starting out, your savings rate will be by far the biggest influence your portfolio growth. You could do a lot worse than simply sorting your ava...

If your existing IRA is not your wife's, is it a non-deductible IRA? As I understand it, you are not eligible to deduct Traditional IRA contributions if you are eligible for a 401k plan with your employer. In this case, your IRA should be a Roth. The spousal IRA can be either Roth or Traditional unt...

Such record keeping articles were useful back when records were on paper and the file boxes were always full; with paperless records now they are less so. Consider that 10 years of full household records take less space on my hard drive than last summer's vacation photos. It hardly makes it worth t...

Obviously take the free $1000 first, which it sounds like you are. Beyond that, it's a tough call that will come down in large part to your marginal tax rate now vs what you anticipate it being in retirement. I'd lean whichever way that calculation leads you but also hedge your bet by contributing s...

In general it is preferable to use the asset allocation rather than the date when choosing a target retirement fund. Most firms (including Vanguard) have gotten very aggressive with their glide paths in an effort to avoid looking like they underperform when compared with other firms funds with the s...

Not sure how you're supposed to get a lot of leverage in this situation. Unless she was in the market elsewhere prior to applying for this position internally, she's probably not going to be able to secure another offer before having to give a decision on this one. And I would think that turning dow...

I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find examples of emergency expenses that require cash in hand on short notice, at least if you operate within the law ;) Given that, keeping most of your emergency funds in a brokerage type account is likely fine, provided that some combination of the accou...

I would laugh out loud if someone told me this after we'd written an offer. Once someone is on the shortlist, we expected them to be ready to roll once we made an offer that was acceptable. FWIW, this perfectly logical approach will not sit very well with the hiring manager and may get the offer re...

Company A is interested in me, and I am interested in them. Most likely if an offer comes, it will be by Jan 2015, maybe even earlier. Company B is a bit slow, and they will only start phone screens in Dec/Jan 2015, and offers in Feb 2015 earliest. I do not think I can stall Company A for one month...

This is the dance you have to do when interviewing. Just be thankful that your first choice will likely respond first (the other way around is worse). You should keep both companies in the loop with regard to where you are in the search process with other companies. If an offer comes in, you'll need...

I have the old Blue Cash which, based on my back of the envelope calculations, is a better deal for us. The old card pays 1% less on groceries, 2% more on gas, and the same 1% on everything else. But the grocery spending has no limit, as opposed to the $6k limit with the BCP. The cash back rates on ...

I use Mint and like it for keeping tabs on things like balances, cash flow, and budgeting. As someone else mentioned, the investment portion of Mint is pretty useless. I have my investment accounts added just so I can keep track of my net worth. Mint is not as full featured as most desktop financial...

I'm on the older edge of the millenials (32) and in a creative field. I don't have access to a 401(k) (to say nothing of a match!) or a pension and most of my peers are in the same boat. Either we are 'self-employed' or working at small companies that don't offer benefits. Even though I am now work...

Paying down the student loan debt should be a top priority, that is a very high rate on a large amount of money. Only you and your wife can decide if using "her" money for that is appropriate, but personally I feel that when you are married the distinction of "yours" and "he...

I agree that this seems more attributable to economic factors such as stagnant wages, rising cost of education, etc rather than lack of finance education. I mean, I'm all for schools offering financial education, but in the information age there's no reason people should be less educated about anyth...

You can invest for any goal, but generally the shorter your time horizon for that goal, the more conservatively you must invest. Most folks here will tell you that no money you are likely to need within the next 5 or perhaps even 10 years should be in stocks. And you'll find that beating that 1% you...

Hard to say anything that hasn't already been said, but this stance of doing what you can without ruffling your wife's feathers (which honestly seems pretty easy to do) is never going to work. You 2 need to get on the same page financially. That absolutely has to be priority 1. Both of you have to c...

We had the Hyatt legal plan also and have no complaints at all. Had will done for myself and my wife last year. You still go to "real" attorneys, they just need to participate in the plan. There was no shortage of attorneys that did in my area.

You're wise to hold off on filing suit. You'd be wiser still to heed the advice given here and to realize that pursuing this is simply throwing good money after bad. You purchased a 15 year old car with a poor reliability record sight unseen from halfway across the country and got burned, period. Al...

I see you're from NC. Insurance companies have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the rates they are permitted to charge here for homeowners insurance. This has been going on for years. A few years ago, Allstate said they would drop our homeowners policy unless we also gave them our auto. Since th...

My wife hasn't worked in 9 years. She quit to be a SAHM with our son in 2005, and then life happened and it took longer than we wanted to have our second child. She will likely return to work in a couple of years. Without knowing anything about your specific financial situation, I'd say you will be ...

I try to keep things simple wrt Mint budgeting, which to me means considering these sorts of payments expenses (or outflows). To me, the bottom line is that the money is not available to be spent again. Modeling it as a transfer makes some sense, but why would you only model extra principal payments...

Maxing out 401k is good. Saving for the emergency fund is good. But you don't state how much you actually have going toward CC debt (or anything about your income). How long will it be until your CC debt is gone at your current pace? What is the interest rate? I'm guessing the answers will result in...

Agree with most of what has been said. This is not about budgeting. This is about living within your means. The thread title is very misleading, OP thinks her husband is a spendthrift since he spends too much on plants. She on the other hand wants to save....for a ski lodge :oops: Do you seriously w...

- I am looking for some impartial advice on buying a home - I have an income of $450,000 which is stable for at least 3 more years after which may stay the same or could go down to 300,000 per year. My wife makes $220,000 which also is stable for 3 years - I would like to buy a home for $1,480,000....

You need to determine whether or not you can swing another $1000/month before you "buy in" to your dream house any more than you already have. Almost doubling your largest single expense also means that your existing emergency fund won't cover the same number of months if you buy this new...

I don't understand the details, but I think having rolled over an old 401k to a TIRA complicates or prohibits doing backdoor Roths. Regardless, if you're still working then yes doing a conversion would likely result in a substantial tax bill. You'd likely be better off waiting until retirement (when...

Once you hit the contribution limits for your tax deferred accounts, you'll start having federal tax withheld though, right? If I follow you correctly, you're essentially contributing 100% of your salary to retirement accounts and living off savings instead. I don't think you have anything to worry ...

It doesn't seem that financial advice is what the OP is looking for here. Because I can't pay cash? That was more or less your suggestion right? I would look into the immediate area then! Home prices double outside of those two neighborhoods? Not quite double but get significantly more expensive ye...